Andrew Wakefield was a British surgeon who became interested in researching the possible link between the MMR vaccine and autism in 1996 when a concerned parent approached him with questions about her autistic child. This led to him conducting the study described below.
The Study
Wakefield studied 12 kids in 1998 who seemed to develop symptoms of autism after they received the MMR vaccine. These children exhibited a form of regressive autism in which they lost certain capabilities, including speech and other developmental skills. Wakefield carried out testing to exclude other known causes of neurodegenerative diseases in children.
The heading of the Wakefield study, which has since been retracted by the Lancet.
To test for autism, he performed psychological and neurological assessments, and took MRIs and EEGs. He placed emphasis on self-reports from the parents involved. For 8 of the 12 children, the parents reported observing significant changes in their behavior after the vaccine was administered.
There is No Connection Between Vaccines and Autism
Source: FreeThink
Researchers have since concluded that there is no correlation between the rate of MMR vaccination and the prevalence of autism. In 14 studies, researchers tried and failed to reproduce Wakefield’s original findings. In fact, in 2004, Wakefield’s co-authors withdrew their names from the study after learning about his association with a law firm. Brian Deer, an investigative reporter, discovered that Wakefield was directed by the law firm to falsify his results in exchange for monetary compensation. Wakefield purposefully failed to follow the scientific method in his research in order to provide the findings that the law firm wanted. The law firm wished to create a lawsuit against vaccine companies and needed evidence to support their claims.
